Water Resources minister, others want engineers included in national plan

The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, has advocated for the inclusion of professional engineers in national planning as any national development plan made without their inputs is bound to have limited success.At 39th Annual Conference/AGM and Dinner/Awards 2017 of the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN) in Lagos, Adamu, who called for the use of indigenous engineers in constructions, noted that the only way a country could develop its workforce is to utiliise them properly.

Speaking on the theme: “Integrating Nigerian engineers in the sustainability and growth of the Nigerian economy,” Adamu, who is ACEN president, said that Nigeria could no longer afford wastage on failed and abandoned projects and it is time to match infrastructural plans to our resources with due diligence aimed at creating employment, economic prosperity and skilled manpower development.

Adamu noted that Nigeria’s quest for foreign things has left many white elephant projects, inefficient industries. He added that it is wise for Nigeria to use its human resources to provide job opportunities, as doing so will help keep the economy within its borders so that foreigners do not take money out to build their own economy while the country wallows in poverty.

Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Suleiman Hassan, who was the guest of honour, said that Nigeria has the local content policy that covers involving and empowering indigenous professionals.

Also, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investments, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, noted that local engineers seemed to have lost some of their skills or have concentrated some of the skills to the oil industry or for other infrastructural issues. She stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is trying to reverse the situation, as a lot is going on to ensure that foreign companies engage local partners to invest in our infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers (NISE), an arm of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, will today, confer the former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, with its award of fellowship for his consistent promotion and vital support of the practice of engineering safety in Nigeria.

The award will be presented at the opening ceremony of the conference of the institution scheduled to hold at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

In a letter signed by its National Chairman, Mr. Abiodun Oyedepo, the institution stated that it examines individuals and organizations that have consistently demonstrated leadership role in making safety a priority in their organisations and in society.

Omisore is the Chief Executive Officer of Chisore Engineering Limited, an electrical engineering firm, which has been involved in the execution of many projects for blue-chip companies, banks and embassies, shipping companies, etc. He is also the CEO of Mechelec Consultants, an international Engineering consulting firm that consults for high profile international organisations and multilateral agencies.